


How To (Not) Cheer Up Your Roommate

by sonus



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, Hyuck can't cook, M/M, Roommates, Roommates to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26706979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonus/pseuds/sonus
Summary: There are so many problems in the world but somehow Donghyuck's brain decides to fixate on his roommate's strange behavior
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 21
Kudos: 195
Collections: Challenge #1 — and they were roommates





	How To (Not) Cheer Up Your Roommate

**Author's Note:**

> Hello welcome, I hope you will enjoy this little something~

Mark Lee is acting strange.

He enters the kitchen at approximately 7am and comes out of it empty handed just a minute later just to reenter after just a few seconds. It's unusual behavior at best and almost enough to call the cops on his. Yes, getting up this early should be illegal but it's about how Mark looks possessed when he walks around seemingly without purpose. It's worrying. Not like Donghyuck would ever worry about Mark Lee. But still.

You might wonder how on earth Donghyuck even knows any of that if he is, one, supposed to be sleeping since his first lecture starts at noon and two, he shouldn't be paying attention to what Mark is doing. They are just roommates, nothing more.

Donghyuck swears he is not a stalker but as he wakes up to commotion in the corridor his curiosity wins with reason and he opens his door just a crack so he can clearly see Mark's figure in the faint light of the rising sun. It's out of worry he stays like this for almost half an hour, not because of the way Mark's loose t-shirt slips from his shoulder and exposes a collarbone which looks oddly fascinating in the pinkish light that enters their dorm through the windows. Definitely not.

The point is: Mark is acting strange and Donghyuck, as his amazing roommate is worried. Or interested, or intrigued, you name it.

It's weird and once the older finally leaves for his morning lecture, his hokey attire slumped over his shoulder, Donghyuck ventures out to the kitchen to check if anything is amiss after Mark's little adventure.

Its seems like everything is in it's right place, the only thing gone being Mark's cartoon of milk.

Donghyuck furrows his eyebrows. Mark doesn't usually drink the milk on a daily, being more of a big breakfast which lasts him all day kind of person.

Not like Donghyuck knows what kind of person Mark is, really. It's not like they've been roommates for years now.

Donghyuck shrugs and gathers up the ingredients for his own breakfast, the apartment completely silent around him.

He gets ready for his classes, his body doing each task with automatic precision that can be only crafted by years of practice. Donghyuck's mind if already in his first classroom, trying to solve one of his professor's questions but there's something that keeps pulling him back to reality, something that doesn't let him simply leave the apartment and ignore the anomaly this morning was.

Donghyuck's mind keeps coming back to it because Mark didn't look himself.

He looked... strange.

And it bothers Donghyuck to no end.

xxx

By the end of Donghyuck's second class this afternoon he is pretty sure he will go insane if he doesn't do anything, fast.

"Why are you so jumpy today?" Renjun sends him a half worried half judging stare as if he already knows the answer is gonna be somehow stupid. Well, he isn't _wrong_. Donghyuck knows he is being stupid, worrying over Mark when like this, especially when they older didn't even say anything suspicious. They are just roommates and yet he can't get over it.

"Mark was being weird this morning," he says and absentmindedly lifts a pen to his lips, ready to chew on it like it's candy. Renjun snatches it from his hand at the last second. Jeno looks mildly concerned.

"Being weird how?" he asks, clearly concerned for both Donghyuck and Mark who he knows mostly from Donghyuck's story times.

See, him and Mark aren't exactly friends. Or more like not only friends, Donghyuck doesn't know. They are roommates, that much is sure.

"Did he try to kiss you?" Jaemin's tone sounds disinterested but there's a sharp look in his eyes.

Donghyuck's jaw drops almost all the way down to the floor.

"Oh shit, did he?" Jeno's eyes widen but he doesn't look surprised at the idea of it happening more at the fact that it was today of all days. Donghyuck hates how well he knows his best friends in that moment.

"It the biggest game of push and pull in history finally over?" Renjun asks sarcastically but he is clearly interested too, his figure leaning in Donghyuck's direction unintentionally.

"Excuse me," he says in the calmest voice possible and looks each of his friends in the eyes. "But what the fuck."

This time it's Jeno, Renjun, and Jaemin who look between each other as if Donghyuck was too stupid to understand something which, at this moment, felt actually true. He could not, for the love of god, figure out how they all came to the conclusion that he and Mark...

"He just wasn't his organized and always on top of things self," he says in a resigned voice. Suddenly coming with this to his friends doesn't sound like a good idea anymore.

It's clear that Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin have their own perspective on Mark and Donghyuck's relationship and they will add secret meaning where there's none.

Because there's nothing there, right?

Donghyuck has trouble swallowing with so many pairs of eyes on him.

" _There's nothing there_ ," he repeats the words like a mantra in his head until at least, he believes them too.

xxx

_be home late, don't wait for me with dinner and i'm sorry we will have to move our movie night_

Donghyuck stares at the phone in his hands for an awfully long time to the point that Renjun has to shove him to get his attention.

"Professor is looking," the older whispers loudly and Donghyuck cringes.

He tries to focus back on his lecture and ignore the knot forming in his stomach at Mark's message.

It shouldn't be a big deal, really, since _they aren't that close_ and besides, their dinner is just a nice name for eating their own microwaved take outs. Even conversations are rare during their meals and Donghyuck likes to think it's more coincidence than anything else that makes both of them eat at the same time.

The movie nights aren't a big deal too, just Mark joining in to watch yet another amazing movie Donghyuck decides to watch. He guesses this is more lika a tradition; each time Donghyuck wants to watch something he automatically leaves half the sofa free so that Mark can join him.

He has been meaning to watch The Kissing Booth that evening and Mark has probably picked up on it during last dinner.

Donghyuck sighs.

There's something going on with Mark and it unsettles him. It makes his insides twist into an uncomfortable knot because Mark shouldn't feel bad.

Donghyuck doesn't like it.

" _Well_ ," he mumbles to himself and Renjun gives him a worried look. "Time to be a good roommate."

_sure, just make sure to lock the door behind you, i don't wanna get murdered_

The lie comes to him naturally, his brain already forming a plan.

He smirks.

xxx

"Honestly, how hard can it be?" Donghyuck asks, phone pressed to his eat with his shoulder as he gathers the ingredients he knows he will need.

Before him lays a printer receipe he frowns at from time to time.

"It's too easy to be true," Renjun voices the suspicion Donghyuck was fo scared to form into words.

"It's fine, I know how to cook," Donghyuck tries to put as much confidence as he muster into the words but Renjun can't be fooled that easily.

"No you don't."

"I do," Donghyuck looks at the boxes before him.

It has been a while since either him or Mark tried too cook anything and half of the pans are dusty. Donghyuck's mother would cringe so bad if she saw what the live her son is living now.

"If you say so," Renjun sighs with resignation. "I have to go, some of us have work to do. I wish I could make romantic dinners for my roommate too."

Donghyuck resists the urge to run out of the door and travel the two floors that separate him from the older just so he could strangle him.

"You live with Jaemin. He is your boyfriend, I'm sure you have enough romantic dinners with each other," he says, words stumbling out too fast in an attempt to get them out before Renjun cuts him off.

Donghyuck realizes his mistake too late to correct himself.

"So do you and Mark," Donghyuck mayb not be able to see Renjun right now but he can _feel_ the proud look on his friend's face.

Well, he has to admit he walked into this one on his own free will.

Donghyuck sighs, too tried to argue.

"Whatever, just wish me good luck you idiot."

Renjun laughs.

"Good luck, you will need it."

Donghyuck feels uneasy like Renjun has somehow just jinxed him.

"I can cook just fine," he mumbles to himself and gets to work.

xxx

Renjun really must be a demon sent from the hottest part of hell, his whole purpose being ruining Donghyuck's life.

It sounds stupid and way over the top but that's truly how Donghyuck feels when he hears an unmistakable sound of turing keys in a lock before the door to the apartment opens quietly.

The lump in Donghyuck's throat that has been there since the morning, the uneasiness at Mark's strange behavior slowly melts away, replaced by a hot blush creeping up his neck as he realizes how quiet his roommate tries to be not to wake him up.

From where Mark is right now he can't see the kitchen light still being on and maybe it's for the best considering what a big failure Donghyuck's plan turned out to be.

Despite Renjun's concerns it actually wasn't his ability or rather lack of it that made the food Donghyuck tried to make absolutely uneatable.

It was a mix of both factors and Donghyuck can't help but sigh at the mess he has made of their kitchen.

There are pages full of notes everywhere and some colorful post-it notes on the table where he has tried to note down helpful things when Jeno called him, desperate and on the verge of tears.

All things considered, Donghyuck is quite happy the apartment is still standing, the only burned thing the food in the pot.

"What the…" Mark's voice comes from somewhere closer now and Donghyuck curses inwardly. "Donghyuck? Are you still up?"

Donghyuck wonders why shouldn't he be, the clock above the fridge showing not even 1 a.m. It's still rather early considering both of them are college students living mostly on coffee and pizza.

"Yeah?" his voice sounds unsure and Donghyuck makes a halfhearted attempt at blocking the food disaster from view when Mark enters the kitchen. "Why would I be sleeping?"

Mark stops in the doorframe and _looks_ at him, eyes tracking his features. It's not like a scene from a drama but Donghyuck feels himself swallowing hard anyway, unsure what Mark sees, how messy his hair must be.

And then he thinks, _why does it even matter_? It's just Mark.

His Mark.

"You waited for me?" he asks carefully as if he was scared Donghyuck would run away if he said the wrong thing. Which probably isn't too far off but Donghyuck comes to a stunning realization right this second.

His friends _were_ right. They aren't friends, nor just roommates, nor anything else at this moment, but there's something.

There's a spark in Mark's eyes when he notices the burned food.

"You cooked?" he asks, voice weak.

"Tried to," Donghyuck answers truthfully. "Should have listened to Renjun when he said this was a bad idea but you looked so stressed and sad and then you said you wouldn't be home until late and—"

Donghyuck has only enough time to take a deep breath before Mark is before him. His thoughts crumble into an impossible to understand mess at the proximity of the older and Donghyuck wants to take a step back but there's a wall behind him so he has no other option but to just stare as Mark blinks down at him.

And then, just when Donghyuck thinks he is starting to regain his sanity, Mark kisses him.

It's fast and sweet and makes Donghyuck ache for more. More of Mark's hair between his fingers and more of his roommate under his lips.

But Mark moves away, eyes wandering nervously.

"Hey," Donghyuck snaps the older's attention back to him. "Why were you acting weird in the morning?"

"I had an important hockey match today," he says with a breathless laugh. "We won but I was so stressed."

"You didn't invite me to watch?" Donghyuck raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest, the space between their bodies finally wide enough for him to move. "I like cheering for you."

Mark blushes and it's so _cute_ Donghyuck can't help the giggle that escapes his lips.

"I know you are buried in work. And you being just _there_ ," here he gestures vaguely around them. "for me is enough. I would rather have you rested than pulling another all nighter."

Donghyuck tilts his head and _looks_ at Mark. He wonders how come he never noticed the weird relationship between them, the tension too high to handle now.

Maybe it was because Mark was just so easy to be around and so nice to everyone Donghyuck took it for granted and never bothered to think why he treated him differently from his other friends.

"Aw you care," he says, his thoughts safe in the back of his mind. "And here I was, thinking we were just roommates."

"Hyuck," Mark starts and then he catches a glimpse of the burned food again and frowns. "Let's order take out."

Donghyuck laughs and nods in agreement, the perspective of eating food and watching movies and maybe kissing too giving him an adrenaline rush.

"Lets," he agrees and follows Mark to the living room.

"We were never really only roommates, were we?" he asks Mark's back in a whisper.

Mark just laughs.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated, i hope you enjoyed reading and maybe *eye emoji* you can try your luck woth guessing who i am


End file.
